When LaVey's wife, Diane, filed for divorce, Anton had to liquidate his assets, including the Church of Satan. Journalist Alan Cabal (New York Press, 12-18 November, 1997) observed, "[The Church] was dissolved in bankruptcy court, a fitting end..."

Well, as I see it, the church doesn't seem to have dissolved. Was there ever any legal situation in which something even remotely close to this has happened? Or is this just another misguided account from someone without a clue? Any information regarding the situation, or at least where I could find out some legitimate details, would be great. Thanks.

I do not Admin. for the Church of Satan, but I will say that you have clamped some tasty bait twixt yer teeth there.
Unfortunately, unless you let it go, you might find yourself dangling on some line above the water gasping for breath and wondering why you are in such a mess.

In my opinion, I would have to state that your time would be better spent being creative, intelligent and goal oriented than fussin' over something which you have no control, due to it being in the past and a matter for the Church only.

I understand feelings of curiosity and/or sympathy that you may have over something that could be worthy of such thought, but seriously...does it look like you need to worry? By the efforts of the Administration and the many members and supporters, I would think that your concerns would be addressed on the merit of the visible achievements and ongoing efforts.

If you really have concerns, ask what you can do to address them and give your share to the effort. That would show a stronger level of support than letting "base concern with no obvious motive" lead your charge.

I often ask myself what I can contribute to enhance my experience of Satanism, and support to the Church that has enhanced my understandings. Worry about the unchangeable is not what I came up with.

Do not believe everything you read. If you are curious it is best to go to the source (which you are kind of doing by posting here). I do not claim to know the details of Dr. LaVey's devorce but I do know that the CoS is still running strong and is a fully functioning organization that is legally registered with the US Government. A lot of what you will read on websites through out the web will be pointless and will attempt to make the CoS sound bad. My best suggestion would be to take anything written on a website with a Grain of Salt... unless that website happens to have a link from the Church of Satan's Links Page. By visiting the websites listed there... you are sure to know that you can usually trust the content that is offered.

Another point would be.... why does it matter? Any issues Dr. LaVey had in his personal life are just that "His Issues".... Personally I could care less what happened and who got what. No matter what happened, it did not affect my membership or views of the CoS. It did not affect my relationship with Dr. LaVey or any other CoS Member. I just do not see the need to know..... I tend to think that anyone's time caring about such things could be used to research more interesting things. But hey... I'm weird.... cuz I also don't watch those popular Reality TV shows either...

Under common law, you don't necessarily have to be wed (ie., have a ceremony or get a license) in order to be legally married; you only need to present yourself as a married couple. If you want to dissolve a common law marriage, you still need to go through a legal divorce.

I don't know the circumstances of LaVey's and Ms Hegarty's relationship or domestic arrangement, though. Only some states recognize common law marriages, and I'm not sure which those would have been when LaVey and Ms Hegarty "shacked up", or what state they were in at the time.

Maybe someone can clarify? Did they have a civil or common law marriage?

Dr. LaVey's personal bankruptcy procedure was halted before it was completed and an out-of-court settlement was reached. In any case, the Church of Satan was not on the table, although the lawyers for the other side wanted it to look that way. Our organization has been in continuous existence and is thriving.